Night Wind
by Ryuuen Kurai
Summary: Another Tokiya-Fuuko fic... this was supposed to be a one-shot fic but i just can't push myideas of it as a series aside... Chapter Three's up and features a little confrontation between the two...
1. Chapter One

STANDARD DISCLAIMER:

Honoo no Recca and its characters do not belong to me. They belong to Noboyuki Anzai-sensei, one of my most admired mangaka.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I know the concept of Mikagami musing over Fuuko's death or near-death is clichéd and everything but, what the heck! Another fic featuring it wouldn't hurt, ne? My writer's block is worse now compared to the time when I was writing Chapter Two of Autumn so don't expect much from this. I can't conceive any more ideas for Chapter Three as of the moment so I'm writing this as sort of an exercise for my brain. (Must have overstrained it during examination week… Cramming really isn't healthy…) 

Gomen if I misspell Uraboutusatsujin…

Anyhow, hope you enjoy reading this one… It was such a struggle writing it.

NIGHT WIND By: Ryuuen 

Mikagami's Point of View

            The chilly night wind blows, entering the room through the open window, stirring a few strands of purplish hair from her face. I gently tuck the silky tresses behind her ear and sigh. The wind… her element. So like her, yet so unlike her. 

            It has hardly been a week since I found her slumped against my doorstep, slowly bleeding to a painful death, crimson fluid oozing from all the wounds she possessed. "Mi-chan," she had said, struggling to stand up. I helped her up and, as she stared weakly into my eyes, I felt something… something deep inside my heart… something so familiar yet so foreign to me…

            I sigh, my eyes traveling not for the first time to the silent figure lying on the hospital bed. Kirisawa. How could the frail, lithe form on the bed be the vibrant, hyperactive girl I came to know? How could an image of vulnerability be the warrior who had fought bravely by my side at the Uraboutusatsujin Tournament? How could something so dead be something so alive?

            She is strong; I have come to acknowledge that. She possesses a strength that I had never seen in any woman besides oneechan. Yes, she is a woman. No matter how much she acts otherwise, nothing could change the fact that she is one. I would be willing to die my death before I would finally admit that, in some unexplainable way, she had earned my respect and admiration… and perhaps even more.

            She is nothing like my sister, that much can be said, but there is something…something I couldn't fathom… an aspect of her that draws me to her… The day I met her was the day when I challenged Hanabishi at the mirror house. I wouldn't have noticed her then if it weren't for her elemental weapon. I thought her incompetent and weak for she was powerless against me. However, as time passed, she proved me wrong. Courage and honor… virtues of a true warrior possessed by this monkey. I made it my habit to refer to her as that since that was what I thought she was. I have always believed her inept of logic and common sense, considered her too shallow-minded, incapable of comprehension, rash and unmindful of the consequences of her actions. And again, I found that I was gravely mistaken. In her battles, she was always cautious, always calculating, always keeping her emotions in check. She anticipated each move of her opponent and that made her formidable. Then again, she was always calculating, always trying to understand her friends, to understand me. And, miraculously, she had. 

She wasn't the type of person who liked me because of my appearance and avoided me because of my demeanor. No, she was different. She was the only person who treats me like a normal person. She jests with me, chats with me, enjoys mocking me using those silly little nicknames that no one else dares mimic. Why exactly did I put up with all that? I do not know. _"Hey guys, guess what? Ice Boy's finally thawing!" _she had said during my most recent birthday, when, I unwillingly gave them a half-smile. I had snorted snobbishly at the comment then but now… Now I find that she may have been right after all.

            Mi-chan… the ever so popular nickname she calls me. I wonder to myself why I let her address me in that familiar manner. No one else calls me by that name. They'd call me Mikagami, Mikagami-kun, Mikagami-sempai, but never Mi-chan. No one dares… except _her_. She only uses my proper name when she is serious, which, to say the least, is not very often. But, when she does, it effectively drives some sense into me even when I am treading dangerously at the edge of sanity.

            Mi-chan… the last word that escaped her lips. How I wish that I could hear it from her once more. I remember it all too well. Her voice, softly stuttering my name, her smile, her eyes… Truly, the eyes are the portals to the soul. There are times when a smile adorns her funny face, making everyone else believe that she was okay, but her eyes speak otherwise. As I mask my weakness with coldness, she hides hers in that toothy grin that she plasters on her face.

            I sigh, yet again. _Kirisawa, you have no idea how much alike we are. If you only knew…_

She stirs, cerulean eyes hazy and unfocused before seeing me and when she does, she smiles a sad, weak smile and struggles to sit up. "Mi-chan…"

            I gently place two fingers upon the paleness of her lips to silence her and I can see the shock register in her blue orbs. "Shh, you are not strong enough, Fuuko," I say softly, marveling at my own behavior. It was the first time I addressed her by her first name. _Boy, am I getting soft!_

            She smiles yet again and settles comfortably among the pillows, her gaze locked into mine. I find myself drawing closer to her and as I do, she gently raises her hand and places it against my cheek. "Mi-chan, it really is you," she said, still weak, still fragile. Her hand is cold, and, subconsciously, I place my hand over hers. She startles once again at the gesture but doesn't do anything.

            "Yes, it is me," I say, still in the gentle, unfamiliar manner.

            "I'm glad," she says withdrawing her hand, and with that, her eyes drift slowly closed. "I'm tired, Mi-chan…" she murmurs, nestling further into the pillows.

            I lean in closer and whisper in her ear, "Then rest, monkey. Oyasumi nasai."

            She regards me with half-sleepy eyes and says playfully, "If I weren't hooked into all these equipment right now, Fuuko-chan would have taught Fridge Boy a lesson."

            I give her a half-smile and turn away, facing the window. _Sleep tight, Kirisawa. Sleep tight…_

The chilly night wind blows, caressing the pale face of its goddess, stirring a few strands of hair from her face. And, as I close the window to keep the cold out, I open yet another to a colder place… my heart.

Okay… that was… relatively short. I honestly intended to make it way longer than it is. I dunno. It seems that my writer's block is getting to me yet again. By the way, if you're wondering why Fuuko's in the hospital though Yanagi healed her, my explanation would be that it's because a high-level madougu inflicted the casualties and Yanagi was not quite prepared for it.

Anyway, though this obviously is supposed to be a one-shot fic, I can't help having ideas for a sequel. There are so many questions to be answered like who attacked Fuuko. I dunno… So, please review and tell me what you think about this. Please be kind. 

Ja.


	2. Chapter Two

(Please refer to Chapter One for the STANDARD DISCLAIMER)

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Ohayo, minna-san! I didn't mean to take this long to write this chap but the reviews were dismally few that I had to derive inspiration from other things in order to write this.

What started out as a one-shot fic is slowly turning out to be another series… Just hope you'd stick with me till the end.

I know very little about SODOM, not having read the manga, so please don't flame me about the plot hole. After all, I'm basing this on the anime and there was no SODOM there, was there? 

NIGHT WIND 

By: Ryuuen 

Fuuko's Point of View

            _Darkness._

_            A flash of silver._

_            Rain._

_            The jeweled hilt of a sword._

_            Wind._

_            Blood._

_            Thunder._

_            Falling…_

"NO!" I scream, jolting out of the nightmare in time, perspiration cascading down my face, mingling with the tears that fell unnoticed. Clutching at my hair, I pull myself up into a sitting position ignoring all the hospital equipment latched on to me. Burying my face in my arms, I feel all my pent up emotions break loose.

            I lost. I failed. I am disgraced forever. _Raiha… _

            I remember the time when he rescued us from the water room back in the Uraboutusatsujin Tournament. He was the enemy, I knew, and yet I still trusted him. He told me that we were bound by destiny and that gave me hope. Not even after he told me that we were destined to fight did I doubt him. I was instantly drawn to him by some inexplicable emotion that I tried to ignore. We met in stealth after the tournament, secret trysts that I always looked forward to. I kept it from my teammates, not knowing what their reaction would be. And I loved him. Beyond all reason and logic, I fell in love with the enemy. I fell only to find that he wasn't there to catch me after my fall. 

            Destiny… somehow I think it is all your fault! If it weren't for our madougus, Raiha and I… 

            _It was on the night that I finally admitted my feelings for him to myself that he had to go and assault me. He said that he was just following orders, he said that the kindness he showed me was just a disguise, a foil to gain my trust. He told me that the times we spent together meant absolutely nothing to him, that the laughter we shared was nothing more than a masquerade. All he wanted was my madougu, my Fuujin. The Raijin, as it turned out, was a velvet sphere that controlled lightning and he needed the Fuujin for it to reach its maximum potential. I tried to talk him out of it, refusing to believe all the things he had just told me. I hadn't brought my Fuujin that night so for the first time in my life, I couldn't fight back, I just stood there and let all the blows come. But it didn't matter anymore. Nothing did. Physical pain was incomparable to the pain that pierced my heart that time. He hurt me, sliced through my delicate skin, made me feel what it was like to be at the receiving end of a blast from his madougu but he didn't get as much as a scream from me. All I did was shed silent tears as the one I loved tore apart my body as well as my heart. Upon discovering that I didn't have the Fuujin with me, he stopped attacking me and left, just like that. Left me to deal with the pain, the agony, and a stinging sensation in my heart._

            I staggered to stand up, squinting blindly through the falling rain. Recognizing my surroundings, I took small furtive steps towards the nearest house and fell limply against its doorsteps. I hear the sound of impatient footsteps coming to open the door and a low familiar voice exclaim. "Kirisawa, what the hell happened to you?"

            _"Mi-chan," I said, trying to stand up but falling midway, my last memory that of icy blue eyes staring into my own and sturdy arms clasping my frail body as I lost consciousness._

Mi-chan… 

            _"You are not strong enough, Fuuko…"_

There were times when he made me believe that he did not care at all. I guess I could never know how gravely mistaken I was. 

            He was always an enigma, a challenge, the only person who can get me so riled up and frustrated by a single gesture or word. He's so infuriating, the way he acts superior over us, the way he executes even the slightest movement with precision, the way he flaunts his unbelievably captivating looks with careless grace… he was close to perfection and he knew it. Damn how I hated him the first time I saw him. To think that he totally ignored my presence and thought me incompetent back then in the mirror house! It was a good thing Recca blasted his sorry ass after that. 

            When he became part of Hokage, I tried to treat him as I treat the others. I could tell by his reactions that I really annoyed him and I couldn't help but congratulate myself for accomplishing such a feat. I don't know what made me continue teasing him and calling him all sorts of nicknames when I knew that he could have easily finished me off if I got on his nerves too much. What was stranger was the fact that he actually didn't. But he really is arrogant and I hate him for it. We could hardly stand two minutes without bickering with each other. We were at each other's throats most of the time but that doesn't mean that we really despised each other. I remember the time when he let me hug him after his first fight. I don't know whether it was from exhaustion or shock that he didn't pry me off of him. Actually, I was also surprised at myself for that action. It was weird.

            After the tournament, I made it my mission in life to annoy him as much as I can everyday at school. I'd pop up from behind him and try to startle him, chat incessantly by his side as he grumbled unintelligibly, give him playful pats on the back… all in an attempt to make him loosen up. But he didn't. After all we've been through, the Ice Man still refused to thaw and I hated his guts for it. I hated his lone wolfish manner and devil-may-care attitude. I hated him even more after he confronted me about my meetings with Raiha. I never found out how he knew about it and I never bothered to ask why. I was so pissed off by the fact that he was interfering with my personal life that I wasn't able to acknowledge the truth that he actually was concerned about what was happening with me. Ice Boy… concerned? Now something was seriously wrong about this picture…

            _"Sleep tight, monkey…"_

            Mi-chan… I never knew…

            A door opens in the background as I hear footsteps approach.

            "So, you're finally awake, Kirisawa," came the once-gentle icy voice.

            _Mi-chan?_

            I did not stir. I just buried my head further into my arms. Maybe if I ignored him, he would just go away. The last thing I needed was for him to see me like this, for him to pity me, or worse, sneer. I was just probably dreaming when I heard his voice speaking to me gently and telling me to rest. The tender soothing gestures must have been mere hallucinations brought about by the fatigue. Maybe I just imagined the concern I saw reflected upon his cerulean eyes beyond its usual icy exterior. Maybe…

            "It was Raiha, wasn't it?"

Okay, I have finally realized what was wrong with the first chapter. Mikagami focused too much on the past rather than the present. He was too caught up reminiscing about the times he spent with Fuuko that he seemed to forget to be logical and think of who did it to her. Well, I guess that's not entirely my fault, considering that this story was intended to be a one-shot fic but I'll see to it that I make up for that teensy weensy problem in the next chap.

Gomen to all you Raiha lovers out there if I always seem to be blaming Raiha for all the bad things that happen to Fuuko. I just can't help it. Please don't flame me though. I'll try to make it up to you by writing a fic on him in the future.

Please review. You do not know how much it hurts to have nobody appreciate my work. It's not THAT bad, is it?

Until the next chapter! Ja ne!


	3. Chapter Three

(Please refer to Chapter One for the STANDARD DISCLAIMER)

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Anou, minna-san. Gomen for the delay. I seldom can get to use the computer with my sister hogging it most of the time. Anyway, thanks a lot for the wonderful, inspiring reviews. I do hope I could live up to your expectations and would be able to keep this fic going in the direction you want it to. Nonetheless, I hope you'd tell me what you think and write me some more reviews.

Oh well, on with the fic…

NIGHT WIND 

By: Ryuuen

Fuuko's Point of View

            "It was Raiha, wasn't it?"

            Whatever sneer or snide comment I was expecting from him then did not come. No "How stupid can a monkey get?" or "I never knew I'd see the day…" No "What a disgrace!" or "What the heck did you do _that _for? Yanagi was worried!" No. It had to be something that took me by surprise, rendered me speechless… something I least expected. It had to be…

_It was Raiha wasn't it_? Just like that, plain and simple, straightforward, calm and placid as though he were discussing today's weather… 

I look up unwillingly, an action which I soon found to be a mistake, as I find myself staring into icy blue eyes, an unfathomable expression in their endless depths. I tried to speak, tried to tell him that he was wrong, to deny what he said, to prove to him that Raiha was not at fault but all I was able to do was meet his probing gaze with a forlorn sigh. We stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity to me but which was only a few seconds in reality. A frown mars the delicate elegance of his face.

"Fuuko," he begins in a manner that I once thought him impossible of, the soft whisper of my name drawing me from my stupor.

"Mi-chan… I…" I stutter, trying my best to put on that cheery façade that I had taken many years to perfect only to find silent tears flowing down my cheeks in torrents.

An audible sigh fills the room as he approaches, his demeanor as cold as ever. I draw the covers of the hospital bed closer as a convulsive chill seizes my entire body, hoping that he didn't notice but he did. Closing the window which was the source of the draught, he turns to face me once again.

"Do you deny it?"

"Nani?"

"Do you deny that it was Raiha who assaulted you that night?"

I bow my head so as not to meet the sweeping gaze he gave me and mutter a meek, "Hai."

Silence. An uncomfortable silence during which I did not dare to look up.

"I see."

He did not believe me.

"It's true," I whisper.

"Is it?" he was skeptic.

Silence yet again. He turns away, facing the solitary window, silvery moonbeams trysting with the soft masses of his hair, forming a halo. Standing there, pale features alight with radiance, he seemed like an angel…an angel sent from above to save me from my own foolishness… _my _angel… my _real _angel… an angel who didn't seem to believe a single word I say…

"Mi-chan…" I begin carefully, trying to sound sure in spite of my uncertainty. "It… it wasn't him… He… he could never do that to me… Please, Mi-chan. Please believe me…"

"Why do I get the impression that it isn't I that you're trying to convince but yourself?"

"Mi-chan… please… he did not do it… he… he could never…"

"Enough!" I tremble at the fierce note in his voice as he turns around, his usually calm blue orbs set ablaze with untamed rage. "I've had it with your lies!"

"Mi-chan…"

"I told you to stay away from him, Fuuko. I told you he was nothing but trouble. But did you listen? No! You just had to go and do it your way and see where it got you. How many times should it be proven that assassins are assassins even if they speak with tongues of men and angels?"

"Mi-chan, it wasn't him," I say softly, a tone of desperation in my voice.

"Oh really? Why don't I believe you?" His voice was bitter, taunting. It was too much for me to bear.

"Listen, Mi-chan!" I suddenly exploded. "Whatever _I _do with _my _life is nobody's business let alone yours. You have no right to come barging in telling me whom I must go out with and whom I must not. Furthermore, I don't think it is any of your business, Ice Boy, as to who did this to me! If you don't believe me, _fine_! Since when did you stop being a indifferent bastard and start to care anyway?" 

I slump weakly against the propped up pillows, my breathing labored, my heart pounding in my chest from overexertion. _Damn it! And I thought Ice Boy finally thawed a bit…_ I was mad, no infuriated, make that extremely pissed off. How dare he lecture me on how to live my life when his is all screwed up! Stupid know-it-all bastard! But still…

Sighing, I force myself to look up to find him looking through the window. Having recovered somehow, I sit up slowly, almost wishing I hadn't said what I did when a soft voice draws me to reality.

"You're a bad liar, you know Kirisawa." A cynical laugh echoes through the stillness as he faces me. "And a very delusional one too."

He approaches me slowly, calm and composed, seemingly unperturbed and adds in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh and by the way, monkey. You're wrong. It is this _indifferent bastard's _business to knock some sense into you."

            And, without even waiting for a reply, he pads softly towards the door, hollow footsteps echoing through the room. I follow his movements attentively, guilt slowly ebbing its way into my heart. It was quite obvious that I had hit a cord and that he was trying to hide the hurt. I open my mouth to utter a sincere apology only to be stopped in my track by the soft creaking of a door being opened. I look up to find that him standing at the threshold of my room, and for once I am provided a view of his light blue eyes, for once devoid of their usual icy surface. I hold my breath as he begins to speak, words that I never thought I would hear from him tumbling out his mouth without second thought.

            "But you know what, you're right about something after all. I'm not supposed to care." He pauses and turns around before continuing, "The queer thing is, I do…"

            And with that, he closes the door behind him. 

            Alright… that was quite short. I have planned this chapter to contain both Fuuko and Tokiya's musings but I guess I'd leave that for the following chapters. Please review and tell me what you think. I'm really sorry for such a short chapter. It's just my writing style getting the better of me. Next up would be the musings of each on this confrontation as I promised you, though I'm not sure whether I'd do that separately or cram it into one chap. What do you think? The fate of this fanfic rests on your reviews so I hope that gives you enough reason to write me a nice little review, ne… Till the next chap! Ja ne!


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